1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus and a magnetic resonance imaging method.
2. Related Art
Recently, when taking a medical image of a circulatory system, a technique of Electrocardiogram (ECG) gated imaging by which imaging is performed in a synchronized manner with electrocardiographic signals of a subject is used. For example, a technique of ECG gated imaging performed by a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus is disclosed in JP-A 2008-125986 (KOKAI).
However, according to the technique of the ECG gated imaging, when irregularity in the heart beat is sometimes induced by a motion or an irregular pulse of a subject in some cases, a doctor has to read an abnormal image (ghost image) or an image with a phase shift. For this reason, a conventional apparatus includes a configuration that detects an irregular synchronization interval, and when an irregular synchronization interval is detected, ECG gated imaging is stopped, and imaging is performed again from the beginning.
However, such conventional technology described above has a problem that an imaging time becomes long. In other words, according to the conventional technology, although an irregular synchronization interval can be detected, after all, imaging needs to be performed again from the beginning. As a result, collected data is discarded, a long imaging time is wasted, and moreover, retry of imaging from the beginning results in a long time required for imaging, which causes a long time in the imager for the subject.